How To Show A Lady A Good Time
by writetherest
Summary: "It's just, I uh, I figure that if – and it's still a big if – but if I'm going to be dating your mom, then I'm going to be dating you too." Emma's eyes got big as she realized what she said. "Oh, no, wait. No. God. No. That sounds wrong. Like, really wrong. I'm not like that." Henry giggled at Emma's discomfort and Regina had to work to hide her own smile.


**Author's Note: **Written for Day 1 of Swan Queen Week - Blind Date AU. Title taken from a quote from Raiders of the Lost Ark, which also features in this story. This is a non-magic AU. Enjoy!

* * *

"No." Regina said without ever looking up from her paperwork.

"Regina." Kathryn responded, in that tone that said she was rolling her eyes already. "You don't even know why I'm here. How can you already be saying no?"

"Because whatever the reason, I know that I won't like it. So you should go away and know that my answer is no."

Kathryn took the seat across from Regina's desk and just stared at her, waiting. It took almost ten minutes before Regina finally put the file down with a huff. "What?"

Kathryn smiled victoriously. "I've set up a date for you for –"

"No." Regina replied. "Now I know why you're here and I know for certain that my answer is no."

"Regina!"

"Kathryn! You know how I feel about this."

"Yes, I do. You think it's awful and pathetic and stupid. But that's just because you've been dating the wrong people. This one is different, I promise."

"I don't know why you have this sudden fixation with needing to get me dating, but I'm just fine on my own."

"No, you're not. You're miserable. And you know it."

"I am not miserable. And I am not going on yet another blind date. I told you after the last one that I was through with it."

"I know and if I didn't think that this one would be different, I wouldn't have even brought it up. But I do. Look, I swear, after this date, if it doesn't go well, I will never interfere again. All you have to do is get through one date and if you hate them or it doesn't go well, I won't ever bother you about this again. But," Kathryn held up her finger, "you have to at least give them a chance and try to have a good time."

"One date and you'll drop it? Forever?"

"Promise."

"Fine. But I don't know what you're expecting to happen. I've already told you, the only man I need in my life is Henry."

"Well then," Kathryn smirked, "it's good that this date isn't with a man."

Regina's head whipped up. "What?"

"Oh don't try to pull that shocked routine with me. You could get away with it with a lot of people, but not me, Regina Mills."

"Kathryn!"

Kathryn got up with a grin. "Friday at six. Her name's Emma. She's a friend of Ruby's and we both know what excellent taste Ruby has. Wear something nice, she's taking you out to a pretty fancy restaurant. And like I said, Regina, give her a chance and try to have a good time."

Then Kathryn was out of the office before Regina could say anything else.

* * *

"How'd she take it?" Ruby asked that night, curled against Kathryn as they watched television in bed.

"About as well as I thought. But she didn't say no. How about Emma?"

"Oh, you know, had a million excuses about why it wasn't a good idea. But she didn't say no either. She's still not over what he did to her, you know?"

"Well then, Regina's a great match for her, because she's still not over Daniel's death." Kathryn sighed and let her head fall against Ruby's shoulder. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Ruby considered the question for a long time before she finally answered. "It's either the best idea I've ever had or the worst. I guess we'll find out on Friday."

"I guess so."

* * *

On Friday, Emma knocked on Regina's door at six o'clock on the dot. She shifted nervously back and forth, fighting the urge to tug on her red dress or crack her knuckles. Her hands felt incredibly empty and she wondered now, too late, if she should've picked up flowers or a bottle of wine or something. Was that something that women did when they went on dates – actual, formal dates – with other women?

The door was pulled open a moment later, not letting her dwell too much on her worries, and she felt her breath leave her body at the sight before her. Ruby had told her that Regina was attractive, but that didn't hold a candle to the picture before her. In a black dress that almost screamed sex, her hair curling softly around her face, Regina Mills was stunning. Breathtaking. Riveting. Amazing. Every adjective there ever was to describe a beautiful woman, that was Regina Mills.

Maybe Ruby was right. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

Emma knew her mouth was hanging open, but she couldn't manage to make any words come out. Finally, almost in desperation, she squeaked out a "hi!".

Regina blinked at that before she replied. "I'm afraid I have to cancel tonight."

It took a second for her brain to catch up, but when it did, Emma let out a laugh. It was either that or bursting into tears and she would not let that happen, no matter how suddenly shitty she felt. "Wow. Really? I mean, this has to be a record or something, right? Five seconds? You can't have even gotten a full look at the whole package that is my outfit. And I know that wasn't the best greeting ever, but seriously? I don't even get a hello before you reject me?" She winced at the wording, knowing it had been too much, but unable to stop the words from flowing out anyway.

She told Ruby this was a bad idea.

Regina blinked again, looking almost shocked at Emma's presence – and that didn't make sense, because she knew that she needed to cancel their date so surely she knew that she had one – before she quickly shook her head. "No. No. It's not. It's not like that. It's not you. It's –"

"It's not you, it's me?" Emma laughed again, curling her arms around her torso. "Wow. Usually it's guys saying that, but apparently women can too. Good to know for when I do this again. Which will be never. Okay. You know what? This is… god… this is awkward. So I'm just gonna go."

Regina found herself reaching forward to the blonde, grasping her arm and stopping her from leaving. She didn't know why, exactly. If Emma misunderstood and left, she could tell Kathryn that the date had been a bust and get her off her back for good. But there was something about the rambling blonde and the way she'd looked so hurt for a moment, that made Regina want to at least clear things up.

"No, Miss Swan, that's not what I meant. It's just," she held up the phone that she was holding in her other hand, "my babysitter just called a little bit ago to tell me that she couldn't make it tonight."

"Babysitter?"

Regina sighed. Here it came. As soon as any of her blind dates found out she had a child, they turned and ran for the hills. Which was fine with Regina, if they couldn't handle Henry in her life, then they weren't worth having in her life. But still, it was something she had been hoping to avoid at least for a little while.

"Yes. For my son."

"Your – you have a son?"

"Yes. Henry. He's only ten, so I can't leave him alone and –"

"Yes, you can!" Came another voice from inside the house and Emma began to move forward.

Instead of blocking her way, Regina found herself stepping back and allowing Emma into her home.

"Hey." Emma waved when she caught sight of the little boy standing on the steps. "I'm Emma."

"Henry." He replied before turning to look at his mother once more. "I'm old enough to stay by myself."

Emma chuckled at that but shook her head and replied before Regina could. "No, you're not. Trust me, kid. I was ten once and –" She stopped herself, swallowing whatever words she'd been about to say before smiling back up at Henry and continuing on a slightly different track, "you should be glad your Mom's looking out for you, Henry."

"Yes, well," Regina said then, looking Emma over in surprise, "as you can see, without a babysitter for Henry, I cannot go out with you this evening. I'm terribly sorry about the short notice but perhaps we could reschedule or –"

"No." Emma shook her head, the wheels already turning.

"Excuse me?"

"I mean, uh, I have an idea. Of how we can still salvage our date. Just, uh, give me half an hour?"

"Miss Swan, I have already tried to call a few other friends, but it seems that no one is available to watch Henry this evening and I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving him with someone I don't know even if you could –"

"Oh." Emma said, realizing what Regina thought. "No. I wasn't going to suggest a babysitter. I have something else in mind. If you'll let me?"

"I –" Regina was ready to protest, not sure what to think of this Emma Swan and her ideas, but she remembered her promise to Kathryn to at least give her a chance and so she nodded. "I suppose."

Emma smiled then, and Regina found herself captivated by it. "Great. So, like I said, just give me half an hour and I'll be back to pick you guys up. Oh, and uh, you might want to change into something a bit more comfortable. Like jeans, maybe? Do you even own a pair of jeans?" Emma looked Regina over.

"Yes, I –"

"Great. Jeans it is then. For you too, kid." She turned to leave, getting as far as the door before she turned back around quickly. "That isn't to say that you don't look amazing because… I mean… you look… wow. It's just that I think jeans will be better for our change in plans. But seriously, if I didn't tell you before, you look incredible." Emma bit her lip and then quickly turned back around. "Half an hour!" She called over her shoulder.

Regina waited until she saw a little yellow Bug pull away from the curve before she closed the door and turned to look at Henry.

"Well, that was –"

She didn't have a chance to reply though, because Henry had already moved forward and grabbed her hand, tugging her towards the steps. "You heard Emma. You gotta get changed! And I do too!"

Regina looked down at him in surprise. He actually looked excited by whatever it as that Emma had planned. And that, Regina decided, was reason enough to put on a pair of blue jeans.

* * *

Exactly thirty minutes later there was another knock on Regina's door.

This time, Emma managed to keep her mouth closed, although it was hard. The woman even made jeans look good.

"Hey." She said, her hands stuffed in her back pockets.

"Hey." Regina replied, the word coming out more like a question.

"So, uh, can I –" She gestured toward the door and Regina moved back to allow her in.

"Of course."

"Great. Where's the kid?"

"Here." Henry said as he came down the steps in his own pair of jeans and a sweater.

"You ready to go?" Emma smiled at him.

"Seriously?" Henry asked, looking over her suspiciously. "You're seriously going to take me along on your date with my mom?"

"Well, I mean, if you want. And it's okay with your mom." She looked over at Regina, suddenly realizing that she hadn't exactly cleared things with her. "It's just, I uh, I figure that if – and it's still a big if – but if I'm going to be dating your mom, then I'm going to be dating you too." Emma's eyes got big as she realized what she said. "Oh, no, wait. No. God. No. That sounds wrong. Like, really wrong. I'm not like that."

Henry giggled at Emma's discomfort and Regina had to work to hide her own smile.

"Just, uh, it's obvious that you're really important in your mom's life, as you should be, so… we're going to have to have some kind of a relationship with each other if I date your mom. And I figure we all need to get to know each other, so if we're going to have an awkward blind date, we might as well all have one. You know?"

Henry stared at her for a long moment, waiting to see if she'd crack under the pressure. Usually, if his mom's dates found out about them, they freaked out, but Emma didn't seem to be. Finally he gave a nod. "Okay."

"Okay?" Emma grinned. "Okay!" Then she turned to look at Regina. "Okay?"

"Okay." Regina nodded too.

Emma's smile widened. "Great! Come on." She led them out to the curb where a pickup truck was now parked.

"I thought you drove a Volkswagon?"

"I do. This is my friend David's truck. I borrowed it for tonight."

"For our date?" Regina's eyebrows rose.

"Yep. You'll see why in a bit." Emma assured, moving to the driver's seat.

"Where are we going, Emma?" Henry asked as he scrambled into the cab of the truck.

"You'll see. Now buckle up."

* * *

"It's a field." Henry proclaimed when they came to a stop and Emma put the truck in park half an hour later. The sun was just beginning to set.

"Yep." Emma grinned, hopping out and moving to the bed of the truck, pulling off a tarp that she'd had covering it.

Henry climbed out after her. "I may only be ten and not know a whole lot about dating, but I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to bring your date to an empty field, Emma."

"Ah, but it's not an empty field, kid." Emma motioned towards an old barn that sat a little ways away.

"Are you a serial killer?" Henry asked seriously. "Are you going to kill us?"

Emma let out a laugh. "No, I'm not going to kill you."

"Well, that's reassuring." Regina said as she got out of the cab, her heels sinking in the dirt of the field.

"Just give me a few minutes to get set up." Emma soothed, climbing into the bed of the truck. "It'll be worth it, I swear."

"What will?" Henry demanded.

Emma stood up for a minute and looked down at Henry and Regina. They were both standing with their arms crossed, looking none too impressed with her. The picture they made caused a smile to break out on her face. "You ever been to a drive-in movie?"

Mother and son both blinked and slowly shook their heads. "No."

"Well, after tonight, you will have."

"Seriously?" Henry's eyes widened in excitement.

Emma leaned down and pulled up a projector, which she placed on the roof of the truck. "Yep." She reached down for something else, which turned out to be a small, portable generator. "Think you can put this on the ground beside the truck and turn it on for me, so I can get us powered up?"

"Sure!" Henry reached up and took the generator from her, settling it on the ground and turning it on, all under Regina's watchful eye. "What do you need plugged in?"

Emma tossed down two cords. Henry took them and plugged them in, excited to see the projector come to life. It was faint, but he could make out a projection on the side of the old barn.

"Whoa! Awesome!"

"We'll need to wait a little for it to get darker but... voila! Drive in movie."

"This is so cool! Isn't this cool, Mom?" Henry asked, watching Emma with amazement.

Regina, too, was watching the blonde in awe. "It certainly is, Henry."

"Come on up, make yourselves comfortable." Emma said, motioning to the bed of the truck, which, upon further inspection, was filled with blankets, pillows, and bean bags. "I thought we could have dinner while we waited for it to get dark enough."

"Awesome!" Henry exclaimed again, scrambling over the tailgate and falling onto a bean bag with glee.

"Need a hand?" Emma asked, moving to the tailgate and leaning down, offering her hand to Regina.

Regina took it, carefully lifting her foot up and allowing Emma to help her climb into the truck bed. They ended up standing close together, Emma's hands having settled on Regina's hips to steady her.

"Thank you." Regina breathed, looking into green eyes.

Emma just smiled back. "If I didn't tell you before, you look amazing in jeans, too. It's really not fair."

Regina let out a laugh as Emma forced herself to move away from her. Regina felt the loss of the heat and shivered.

"Grab a seat and a blanket." Emma smiled. "I'll just finish up with this and then we can eat."

"What are we having?" Henry asked in excitement. "I didn't see any food, so how are we getting dinner?"

Emma looked up as she saw another vehicle pulling into the field. She smiled. "Perfect timing. That would be how we're getting dinner."

She jumped down from the bed of the truck and moved over to the other vehicle, leaning over the window to talk to whoever was inside. Regina watched her, finding her eyes drawn to Emma's backside. She certainly looked good in her jeans, too.

Bags were handed over to Emma, followed by three small boxes. Emma offered words of thanks to the driver of the vehicle before turning back to the truck. "Who wants pizza?"

"Seriously? Awesome!" Henry grinned, reaching for the boxes and pulling them from Emma's hands. "Hey! It's got my name on it!" He said, studying the small box. "Here's yours, Mom."

"Mine?" Regina looked at the small box that did, indeed, have her name written on it. She carefully lifted the lid and smiled at what she saw. In the box was a small pizza topped with her favorite toppings.

"Cheese and mushrooms!" Henry exclaimed upon inspecting his pizza. "How did you know?"

"Yes, Miss Swan, how did you know?"

Emma's nose wrinkled as she climbed into the bed of the truck with them and settled down beside Regina. "Please, it's Emma. And a little birdie told me." She smirked. "I, uh, wasn't sure about what you usually do or don't let Henry have, so I got the personal pizzas because they're small and I got caffeine free soda, but… is this okay?"

Regina looked at the nervous expression on Emma's face. "If it isn't?"

Emma's face fell for just a minute before she shook it off and answered. "I'll call back my delivery person and have them pick us up some salads or something. Whatever you want."

"Aw, what? No!" Henry yelped, already picking up a slice of pizza and shoving it in his mouth in protest.

"Henry! You'll choke!" Regina scolded, surprised to hear Emma's voice alongside her own, telling Henry to slow down. "The pizza is just fine, Emma, if my son would actually chew it, instead of trying to swallow it whole."

Henry shrugged, but bit off a piece and began to deliberately chew it. Emma grinned and opened her own box to reveal a Hawaiian pizza. "Great!"

They made small talk through dinner, basic things about their lives – what they did for work, what they liked to do for fun, those sorts of first date things. Emma made sure to ask Henry questions about school and his interests as well. Regina found her to be charming and funny and sweet and was amazed by her interactions with Henry. She seemed to truly care about Henry's answers, not just because he was a means to an end. She'd seen plenty of people try to suck up to children to get in good graces with their parents, but Emma's interest wasn't like that at all. She looked at him with the same interest as she did at Regina when she was answering questions.

Finally, they were finished with their pizza and it was dark. "Okay. So, you guys ready?"

"Yeah!"

"Yes."

"Great. So, Henry, you kind of inspired the movie choice tonight, but I want to clear it with your mom first. It's rated PG but it's got some violence so… if you'd sooner we watch something else, I brought along some other choices too."

Regina smiled at Emma's thoughtfulness. "What is the movie that Henry inspired?"

Emma held up a DVD case. "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

Both Regina and Henry looked puzzled.

"Indiana Jones?" Emma tried again.

"Never heard of it." Henry shrugged.

"Oh man, seriously? Regina?"

"I believe I've heard of it, but I've never seen it myself." She considered for a few moments before she nodded. "It cannot be any worse than those superhero movies Henry is always watching. Go ahead, Emma."

"Yes!" Emma grinned triumphantly. "You guys are gonna love it, I promise."

She put the DVD in and focused the projector before grabbing the other bags and settling back down in her spot. "Popcorn?" She asked as she pulled out some Ziplock bags with popcorn that was still warm.

Henry quickly grabbed a bag. "This is the best date ever!"

Emma couldn't hide her smile as she offered Regina a bag. Regina took it and offered a smile back to Emma. "He may not be far off."

"So why's this movie inspired by me, Emma?" Henry asked.

"The main character's named Henry."

"Cool."

"Shh. It's starting."

* * *

Henry and Emma loved the movie. For her part, Regina found herself watching Emma and Henry more than the movie. It was obviously one of Emma's favorites, as Regina watched her mouth various bits of dialogue along with the characters. She would cheer and shout at certain parts and even though she knew what would happen, she would gasp right along with Henry. She seemed so relaxed and Regina couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was.

Henry watched everything with wide eyes and Regina could tell that he was taken by Henry 'Indiana' Jones. He and Emma would whisper back and forth about certain plot points or exciting moments, and it always brought a smile to her face. She also noticed how Henry managed to move his way closer and closer to Emma throughout the movie until he was snuggled into her side.

She knew that Henry was a very affectionate boy, but he was usually very reserved around strangers, so to see him take to Emma so quickly was a surprise. But not an unpleasant one. Emma's response was also a surprise. She just dropped her arm around Henry's shoulders and continued watching the movie.

When the credits finally rolled, Henry's head was bobbing tiredly, but he looked up at Emma with wide eyes and grinned. "That was so cool, Emma. Indiana Jones is awesome."

"Glad you liked it, kid." Emma smiled affectionately. "Now, let's get you home to bed, huh? I gotta get your mom home before curfew, you know." She winked at Regina as she helped Henry sit up.

"Mmkay." He nodded, rubbing at his eyes. Emma hopped out of the truck bed and helped him down, then turned to help Regina down as well. She handed her the keys. "Go ahead and get the heat started for him. I'll get everything cleaned up as quickly as I can."

Regina took the keys, letting her fingers wrap around Emma's. "Thank you, Emma."

"You're welcome."

* * *

By the time they made it back to Regina's, Henry was asleep against Regina. Regina moved to rouse him, but Emma stopped her.

"Let him sleep. I'll get him."

Regina tried to argue, but Emma wouldn't listen. Instead, she carefully transferred Henry to her arms and lifted him up, carrying him out of the truck.

"You didn't need to do that." Regina whispered as she opened the door, leading Emma up to Henry's bedroom.

Emma laid him down on the bed and he began to stir. "Emma?"

"Yeah, kid. Got you home, safe and sound."

"Thanks for tonight. It was great." He mumbled between yawns as Regina pulled off his shoes.

"Anytime, Henry." Emma brushed hair back from his face.

"More Indy?" He asked.

"Yeah, there are three more movies. Well, one more good one and then the other two are kind of ridiculous, especially the last one, but it's got Marion in it, so… I'm rambling and you're half asleep."

"S'ok. Watch 'em on second date. Movie theatre downstairs."

Emma looked over at Regina in surprise. "You have a movie theatre downstairs?"

"A small one. For Henry."

"That's awesome."

"Second date?" Henry mumbled again, forcing his eyes open.

"Oh, uh, I don't –" Emma stuttered.

"Yes, Henry, Emma will be back for a second date. But now, you need to sleep." Regina assured, leaning over and kissing his forehead. "Get out of those clothes and into pajamas. I'll be back in in a few minutes."

"Night Emma."

"Night Henry." Emma smiled, giving his arm a squeeze before she stood and followed Regina out the door.

"I, uh, I'm sorry that we didn't get to go to dinner." Emma said when they stopped in the foyer.

"I'm not. This was a far better date than dinner could have possibly been."

"Yeah?" Emma looked hopeful.

"Yes." Regina smiled. "You really surprised me, Emma. I'm glad."

"Me too. You've got a great kid. And you're nothing to scoff at either." She smiled back. "Look, uh, I know what you said up there to Henry but if you don't want to –"

"I wouldn't have said I'd go on a second date if I didn't want to. No matter how much Henry might like you. I have to like you too. And I do."

"Yeah?"

"Yes." Regina nodded.

"Wow. Okay. Awesome. Awesome. Then, uh, I'll see you, uh… sometime."

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Regina raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, am I?" Emma frowned, trying to think of what she could be forgetting.

"Unless you don't want to kiss me."

"Kiss – kiss you?"

"Is that not customary on a first date?"

"Uh. I, uh, I mean, yeah. Yeah. Sure. If you want to."

"Emma?"

"Yeah?"

"Kiss me."

"Okay." Emma did. "God, Ruby will be insufferable tomorrow." She murmured as she pulled away.

"As will Kathryn, I'm sure." Regina grinned.

Emma leaned forward and kissed her again. "Worth it. So worth it."

"I cannot argue with that. Or with Henry's earlier assessment."

"Best date ever?"

"For now." Regina smiled. "We do, after all, have a second date coming up. And I'd say it's my turn to plan it."

"I can't wait!" Emma grinned, kissing her one more time before she finally left.

"Neither can I." Regina said as she watched Emma go.

Once Emma had pulled away, Regina moved back up to Henry's room, smiling when she found him in his pajamas, asleep on top of the covers.

"Henry, you need to get under the covers." She whispered as she began to coax him awake.

He blinked awake and climbed under the covers, then turned to look at her. "Mom?"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"I really like Emma. She's funny and nice and cool. And she makes you smile a lot."

A smile spread over Regina's face at that. "Well, I really like her too."

"Do you think I can come on your second date?"

"I'm sure you can." Regina told him, kissing his forehead. "But for now, you need to sleep."

"Okay, Mom. I love you."

"I love you too, Henry."

Regina watched him for a few moments from the doorway before she turned and went to her own bedroom, a smile still on her face. She picked up her phone to see a multitude of texts from Kathryn, asking about her date. With a grin, Regina typed a quick message. It only consisted of three words, but they were words Regina didn't use often.

"You were right."

* * *

Across town, Kathryn read her text from Regina as Ruby read a similar one from Emma.

"See, I told you." Ruby grinned. "Best idea ever."


End file.
